UFC's $4B WME-IMG Sale; 'Ghostbusters' Reviews Hit; NBC on Olympics' Golf Exodus

What's news today: UFC, which was bought for $2 million in 2001 by two casino execs, sold this weekend to a WME-IMG-led group for $4 BILLION. Plus: Inside the Ghostbusters premiere and Hamilton finale, and a new animated movie franchise is born. — executive editor Matthew Belloni, assignment editor Erik Hayden [The Hollywood Reporter - Today In Entertainment] July 11, 2016 What's news today: UFC, which was bought for $2 million in 2001 by two casino execs, sold this weekend to a WME-IMG-led group for $4 BILLION. Plus: Inside the Ghostbusters premiere and Hamilton finale, and a new animated movie franchise is born. — executive editor Matthew Belloni, assignment editor Erik Hayden WME-IMG's $4 Billion UFC Bet Entertainment and sports powerhouse WME-IMG is getting a big kick to its bottom line, business editor Georg Szalai and senior reporter Rebecca Sun [write:] A consortium led by WME-IMG that includes backers MSD Capital, KKR and Silver Lake has finalized a deal to acquire mixed martial arts powerhouse Ultimate Fighting Championship. Sources peg the price tag at slightly less than $4 billion. The company, the biggest mixed martial arts business in the world, has been on the auction block, with several suitors reportedly having looked at it. WME-IMG, led by co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, will serve as the operating owner. UFC, whose matches air on pay-per-view television and on Fox Sports, is one of the fastest growing leagues in sports. Its fans are younger and more diverse [than those of traditional boxing.] Meanwhile, in THR, Esq... ► More women accuse Roger Ailes of sexual harassment. At least six more women have come forward to accuse the Fox News chairman and CEO of sexual harassment following Gretchen Carlson's claims last week. The women told their stories to Gabriel Sherman, who authored a biography of Ailes, for [a New York story]. The revelations led to another round of [back and forth] between Ailes and Carlson lawyers. ► Producers of Tom Hanks' new film sued. A lawsuit claims that Sully producers [failed to pay] a pilot who ensured the plane in their film, which looked like the one Captain Sullenberger landed after colliding with birds in 2009's real-life "Miracle on the Hudson." ► Univision files lawsuit against Charter. The Spanish broadcaster asserts that the cable giant is using its acquisition of Time Warner Cable [to impose] below market license fees. Rep Sheet Roundup: Cillian Murphy, who reunites with Christopher Nolan in the WWII drama Dunkirk, has signed with ICM … Tom Sturridge, up next in the period romance A Storm in the Stars, has signed with WME … Black-ish star Marcus Scribner has signed with East 2 West Collective for publicity. [More signings here.] NBC's Olympic Golf Exodus The mosquito-borne Zika virus has been cited as the cause for many athletes who have decided to pass up the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. And many of them are the world’s top golfers, a sport that is making a return to the Olympics after 112 years, East coast TV editor Marisa Guthrie [writes:] Already the player defections include top-ranked Jason Day of Australia; Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who is ranked No. 4; and No. 8-ranked Adam Scott, also of Australia. American Jordan Spieth (No. 3) has said he is “uncertain” about participating in Rio. But analyst Mike Tirico, who recently joined NBC Sports after 25 years at ESPN, is optimistic that the Rio Olympics will nonetheless be an important milestone for the sport. "I think we need some patience here,” Tirico tells THR. "When you win an Olympic gold medal, it crosses you into a different stratosphere in sports. For the golfers, it’s just a matter of getting used to it. Maybe in 2020 it will have a different resonance for the athletes." Elsewhere in TV... ► USA premieres Mr. Robot three days early online. In a surprise for fans, the network said that it was giving viewers a sneak peek at the show's season two premiere on its website and other platforms. USA said the premiere would be available Sunday night only, the show debuts on TV this Wednesday. [Read the review here.] ► It's game over for Syfy's Hunters. The cabler [has canceled] the straight-to-series adaptation of Whitley Strieber's best-selling novel Alien Hunter. The 13-episode drama was first put in development in October 2013 and picked up to series in September 2014. ► Starz' Outlander boss looks to season 3. This weekend's supersized season two finale finally caught up to where the premiere began. For those that have seen the episode, executive producer Ron Moore maps the road ahead [in a Q&A.] **[Fall pilot watch], by critic Daniel Fienberg -> Show: Speechless (ABC) The Pitch: From the network that brings you TV's good family comedies, another good family comedy, one that totally isn't based on the Michael Keaton/Geena Davis movie from 1994. Quick Response: ABC just knows what it's doing in this terrain. Desire to Watch Again: High.** ► How to Get Away With Murder gay sex scene gets cut in Italy. The country's Rai had to field a public outcry after it censored a scene in the ABC drama. The broadcaster tweeted an apology, acknowledging fault over “[an excess of modesty,]” and vowed to air the episode as intended. ► Chris Evans touts Matt LeBlanc as solo Top Gear host. "For me, he is the man. He is the captain Top Gear truly needs going forward, the perfect torso for the rest of TG's limbs," [wrote]Evans in his weekly column for the Mail on Sunday. Evans recently said he was hanging up his driving gloves after just one season as co-host. TV premieres this week: Difficult People (Hulu, Tuesday), Suits, Mr. Robot (USA, Wednesday), Black and White (A&E, Wednesday), Stranger Things (Netflix, Friday), East Los High (Hulu, Friday), Power (Starz, Sunday), Ballers (HBO, Sunday), Vice Principals (HBO, Sunday). Box Office: 'Pets' Big Bite Audiences can't get enough of animated family films about animals. Illumination Entertainment and Universal's The Secret Life of Pets debuted to a bigger-than-expected $103.2 million at the North American box office this weekend, senior writer Pamela McClintock [reports:] The film delivered Chris Meledandri's Illumination its first new franchise after Despicable Me/Minions and eclipsed Pixar's Inside Out ($90.4 million) to score the best start ever for an original animated property, not accounting for inflation. Finding Dory, which had topped the box-office chart for three consecutive weekends, took in $20.4 million. Elsewhere, Fox’s R-rated comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, starring Zac Efron and Adam Devine, also exceeded expectations in grossing $16.6 million. Another summer animated tentpole — Fox's Ice Age: Age Collision Course — also made waves overseas, grossing $32.2 million from 25 markets. ► [Full weekend box office chart][.] **[New Stephen Galloway film column:] "Failure has its own strange fascination for Hollywood people."** ^^Meanwhile, at the Ghostbusters premiere in L.A. on Saturday at the TCL Chinese Theater, there were dancers, fans dressed in gear alongside the slime decorated carpet and a mega Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The reception to the film, however, has been wildly divergent among critics. [The Hollywood Reporter]'s David Rooney said the charm of the title was "sacrificed to bland, effects-laden bloat and uninspired writing, making this a missed opportunity." At [Vanity Fair], Richard Lawson concurred: "Ghostbusters, quick and dull and weightless, offers very little to root for." However, [The New York Times]' critic Manohla Dargis liked it ("a movie that is a lot of enjoyable, disposable fun") as did [Time]'s Stephanie Zacharek ("The movie glows with vitality, thanks largely to the performers"). ► [At the premiere] I [Red carpet fashion] I [What top critics are saying.] **Who's Comic Con bound? For those planning to brave San Diego crowds on July 21 - 24, here's guides for must-see panels now that schedules are unveiled: [Day 1], [Day 2] and the [TV lineup]. And, in hiring news: THR welcomes [Aaron Couch] today, starting as editor for genre vertical Heat Vision.** 'Hamilton' Cast's Curtain Call The original cast of Hamilton took a final Broadway bow on Saturday night, marking the show's last performance with leads Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and Phillipa Soo, associate editor Ashley Lee [writes:] Aaron Paul, Jane Fonda, John Kerry, devout fans Rosie O’Donnell and Mariska Hargitay, Edward Norton and Jennifer Lopez were among those in the audience at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The New York City production has been virtually sold out for months, with resale tickets for the original cast's final performance running upwards of $12,000 a seat. Set to the sounds of the West Wing theme song (a personal favorite of Miranda's), the final curtain call was met with loud applause as Soo, Miranda, Odom and exiting ensemble member Ariana DeBose (also known as "The Bullet") took a bow in unison. After repeatedly being prodded by Christopher Jackson, Miranda then stepped forward for a solo bow. Despite shouts from the audience for a speech, he simply stood genuinely moved with his hand held on his chest. ► [Stage photos.] I [A behind-the-scenes photo diary] by Renee Elise Goldsberry, who plays Angelica Schuyler. Today's Birthdays: Sela Ward, 60, Greg Mottola, 52, Stephen Lang, 64, Tab Hunter, 84. Follow The News Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.] ©2016 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. [Unsubscribe] | [Manage Preferences] | [Privacy Policy] | [Terms of Use] July 11, 2016